The transfer of information (firmware/software downloads and upgrades, content downloads, configuration settings, and/or other network status information) is practiced widely in communications networks, where a central node or server transmits information to desired nodes via broadcast or unicast messages. The messages are transmitted either on a scheduled or unscheduled basis. A network node can also request a download at any time. In the current state of the art, the communication sessions are set up in a point-to-point or point-to-multipoint mode to facilitate the transfer of information. In networks with limited bandwidth and a large number of widely dispersed nodes, the unicast method is punitive in terms of bandwidth and network resources, since a separate message is sent to each node. The broadcast mode can be more efficient, but it ties up the network for a considerable period, since all nodes have to listen to the central node at the same time in order to receive the desired information. The transfer of information to each requesting node may demand considerable time and bandwidth resources, possibly disrupting normal network operations.